California Pot-Growing Haven Fears Legalization

Marijuana growers and others in Humboldt County, California where the illegal drug is grown in large quantities, worry what legalization will do to the local economy.
Jae C. Hong/AP Photo
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Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

Marijuana growers and others in Humboldt County, California where the illegal drug is grown in large quantities, worry what legalization will do to the local economy.

Jae C. Hong/AP Photo

In most U.S. counties, when residents and officials have a public meeting to discuss their concerns about marijuana, the worry is about children being turned on to the drug or the problem of neighborhood drug houses.

In Humboldt County in Northern California, however, the good citizens are worried about what legalization of pot in the state and perhaps elsewhere could do to their marijuana prices. Humboldt is renowned for its pot growers.

In what may be an unprecedented event, residents, local business people, officials and those involved in the marijuana industry are planning to meet Tuesday night and break a long-standing silence to talk about what supposedly is the backbone of Humboldt County's economy — pot.

More specifically, the meeting will focus on the potential economic effects of the legalization of marijuana.

"It's time to talk about the elephant in the room," said organizer Anna Hamilton.

A Shelter Cove resident, Hamilton said she is "intimately involved" with the marijuana industry and has seen the market get worse over time due to changing marijuana laws.

"I've lived here 20 years and every time there's been a discussion, an open discussion, about marijuana, it has emboldened people to grow more pot with less fear," she said. "As it's become more widely grown, the prices dropped. The effect on our local economy is harsh."